Colourful Grantham character found dead at his Riverside home

Marie Bond

A well-known Grantham character rarely seen without his multi-coloured mohican has been found dead at his home.

Ronnie Ward, aged in his 60s, was found by police yesterday afternoon (Tuesday) in his Riverside flat, after people close to him became concerned they had not seen him around.

It is believed he died several days ago.

A police spokesman said: “We attended a property in Riverside, Welham Street, and found that the occupant had died.

“There were no suspicious circumstances so we are not investigating.”

Kath Gadd, a neighbour who knew Ronnie for more than 30 years, cooks daily for residents of Riverside, a sheltered housing complex, and told how she last saw him on Wednesday last week.

She said: “I kept thinking it’s funny Ronnie hasn’t been in to see me because he used to come in every day. He would always come in in the afternoon and talk to me. I thought it strange that he hadn’t but I never dreamed that this had happened.”

It is believed police were alerted yesterday after a representative from South Lincolnshire Mind, a charity which supports people with mental health problems, visited Ronnie’s home and there was no answer.

He was sadly found dead later that day.

Kath said: “Everybody knew Ronnie. Everybody used to smile when they saw him walking with his mohican on his head. I think he wore it for a bit of fun.”

She hopes that Ronnie will be buried with his headwear.

The Riverside community plans to bring flowers to Ronnie’s funeral. The date has not yet been set.

Kath said: “There will be some of us going. We’re not going to let him go on his own.”